


Premium Bonds

by smutty_claus



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: smutty_claus, D/s relationship, F/M, Incest, indenture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-20
Updated: 2010-12-20
Packaged: 2017-10-13 20:15:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/141333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smutty_claus/pseuds/smutty_claus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Britain's new Veela overlords can make it difficult to get through the day; Harry needs a good reminder and a way to shake all that allure out of his head.  Good thing he's linked to Padma and Parvati Patil.  In more ways than one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Premium Bonds

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pettybureaucrat](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=pettybureaucrat).



> Are you the author of this story and just got your own AO3 account? Email me at: smuttyclausmods@gmail.com and I will edit the author name to reflect your new account!

**To:**  
 **From:** Your Secret Santa

>   
> **Title:** Premium Bonds  
>  **Author:** csi_tokyo3  
>  **Pairing:** Harry/Parvati, Harry/Padma, Harry/Parvati/Padma  
>  **Summary:** Britain's new Veela overlords can make it difficult to get through the day; Harry needs a good reminder and a way to shake all that allure out of his head.  Good thing he's linked to Padma and Parvati Patil.  In more ways than one.  
>  **Rating:** NC-17  
>  **Length:** 11,582 words  
>  **Warnings:** incest, indenture, D/s relationship  
>  **Author's notes:** This story features a future!AU and magical bonds. Huge thanks to my beta N., who's been so supportive and really went above and beyond for this fic.

 

  
 _Here was a grand idea! He would work without sleep for however long it took, searching high and low, near and far, until he would bring ... bring ..._ He gave his head a shake, recognizing the sensations he was feeling. “Rebekka! Get out of my head!”

Across the hall, his partner rolled her chair into view from her cubicle. “Eh? Oh, sorry! I got distracted thinking about one of my old cases.” She studied his face, then got up and came across to his desk. “Harry, are you all right? I wasn't coming on that strong, was I?”

He blinked a couple of times, feeling her allure easing even as she crouched beside him and felt his forehead. “No, it's me. It's probably been a longer week than I thought.”

Rebekka sighed, stroking his hair gently. “You're supposed to be the best at resisting the allure. You have to be really fatigued to let me catch you from across the hall at only a quarter-power like that.”

Harry stood up, carefully, to peer around the warren of Auror cubicles. Luckily, they were all empty. He sat back down and leaned in close to her. “I was out Christmas shopping this week. Plus I had dinner at the Weasleys the other night.”

She tilted her head to one side, platinum-blonde hair spilling over her shoulder as she understood what he was saying. “Ohhh. How much exposure have you _had_?”

“Too much,” he said, sighing. “Apparently your people _really_ like Christmas.”

Rebekka grinned. She was a half-Veela and an experienced Danish Auror who had come to Britain in the Third Wave. “So there's been a lot of allure to wade through, you poor darling. But you're bonded, at least. Doesn't that help?”

“It keeps Annika from trying to set me up with one of her four sisters,” Harry admitted. “But there's so much power floating all around Diagon Alley, no one can help it. It's just that everyone else is ...” He broke off to glance around surreptitiously again. “... already enthralled. A little more allure doesn't hurt them.”

“But for you, it must be hell on your nerves,” she agreed. “Tell you what: Take a break and let me finish this report. It'll take me less time. You try and get some of those pretty faces out of your mind.” She stood and nudged him out of his chair so she could sit down. “Consider it my early Christmas present for my partner.”

Harry moved into the more comfortable visitor's chair, groaning as his lower back welcomed the support. “How did I get so lucky to end up with you as my partner?”

Rebekka glanced over her shoulder before she dipped her quill and began to write speedily in his own handwriting. “You were the last sane man in this place when I arrived, I think.” She turned back around to pay attention to what she was doing. “Harry, do you mind a bit of advice?”

“What, you can write reports and give advice at the same time?” he joked weakly.

“Often.” Her quill raced on as she flipped pages. “You know it's never my business to pry into your personal life, but I did steal your file in the first week we were working together.”

“So did I,” Harry pointed out. “We all do it. It's traditional.”

“You were also right out of St. Mungo's and newly bonded, the first bondsman in over a century.”

He nodded. “Also true. I'm the kind of guy who likes doing those sorts of things that haven't been done in over a century, it seems. What are you getting at?”

“Do those women that bonded you get to sleep with you, too?” As he stared at her, she stopped writing and laughed. “Don't look at me like that. You need to take the night off and let go of all that self-restraint. You've been running around with me all week, spent two nights on stakeout, and been out in Diagon Alley in the middle of the shopping season. I'm surprised you haven't fallen under some other Veela's sway by now with all that hammering against your self-control.”

“You don't use it on me,” he pointed out. “And what do you suggest I do: Go home, grab Padma, yank her clothes off, and bend her over the kitchen table?”

“If that's what she's into, sure!” Rebekka set her quill down. “Harry, I'm a Veela. You may have noticed that. And I've been hit on an awful lot in my life. I occasionally take advantage of it and enjoy myself. You, on the other hand, seem to be the most in-control person I've ever met. I don't know if it's because of those wristbands or because you've got some sort of magical shield, but you're good.”

He sighed. “It's not the bands. They're just for the House, to show my position in it.”

“Well, they're hot on their own. Oooh, there's an idea!” She rummaged around his desk until she found a blank scrap of parchment and, after checking both sides, started scribbling. “I'll call this one the 'Bound Veela' play. Sit down next to a cute guy while wearing a pair of those and sigh longingly. When he asks why, I just tell him that I have to return to my Masters tomorrow and have only one last night to indulge myself in my passions before another five years of enforced celibacy. Bang! I'm riding him until dawn.” She eyed him hopefully. “Could you ask your Ladies where they got them and if I could get a pair made?”

Harry couldn't help himself and grinned. As agent and intimate of the House of Patil, he wore the leather and velvet bands with the Family crest around his wrists. They told all interested ladies, Veela or otherwise, that he was already owned.

For him, it had started quite reasonably, with the goblins of Gringotts sealing him up in a vault as a part of ongoing negotiations over their desire for revenge in that little matter of the Lestrange Vault Break-In. They had, of course, politely assured him that it was all everyday business and that he would be released when they'd finished selling off his estate and assets as compensation.

Ten days of darkness later, while in the persistent company of a spectral-gin guzzling, off-tune whistling ghost who had been a Muggleborn World War II soldier (he had tried to empty the vault next-door before being shipped out for D-Day), the door had indeed been reopened. But there weren't any goblins. Instead, the twin concerned expressions of Padma and Parvati Patil had peered at him. Behind them had been nearly a dozen Veela.

Later, after he'd recovered from the fumes of 'Ghost-Guzzler's Gin' (It was gin so bad that even ghosts could taste it) and had 'The Colonel Bogey March' theme song finally removed from his consciousness, Harry had learned what had happened to the Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Black and Potter while he'd been sealed away. The British Wizarding World itself had been defeated, but not by any Dark Lord. Exhausted, battered, and victorious after their struggle with Voldemort, they had never seen it coming.

Veela.

The invasion had been swift and stealthy, with most male wizards rendered pretty much helpless throughout. Stronger-willed individuals had ended up struggling against both Veela and fellow wizards as the enthralled populace fought to protect their new lovers.

Witches amongst the magical population had fought tooth and nail, even though they were outnumbered. But weariness from the last War had taken its toll and once the smoke from the fires had petered out, both invaders and invaded had eventually settled into a more congenial relationship. The rather violent feminine opposition to having hundreds of Veela take up residence in the UK had subsided as the Second Wave brought Veela families and eligible males into the mix. Magical strongholds such as the Ministry, St. Mungo's and Hogwarts had held out even longer, but eventually had fallen and the Third Wave came, as Veela booted out goblin and Fedyuk International Finance replaced the Gringotts name.

At roughly the same time, even as Veela were enthralling wizards and asserting control over the Ministry of Magic, Gringotts had gone ahead with the auction of the Estate of Harry Potter. It had only been thanks to the vigilance of Fleur Delacour, who had spotted the paperwork, that a family had come forward, both loyal to Harry and able to afford the asking price. And so the Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Black and Potter had been brought together in the forms and persons of Padma and Parvati, otherwise known as the Noble and Most Recent House of Patil.

When they had discovered Harry hidden away in his vault, dazed and dehydrated, the twins had recognized the potential for a renewal of hostilities if the rest of the magical population learned their hero was still amongst them. Some would demand he be a saviour yet again; others would see a possible rebel leader. And to the Fedyuk staff accompanying them, all recently-arrived Veela, he would be a very dangerous person as one who could resist their allure and had done great things already.

As the staff had discussed what they should be doing and to whom they should report, Padma and Parvati had drawn their wands and declared Harry to be their bondsman, invoking old magic that made him an instrument of their House, answerable only to the Head, be it male or female. No other could claim him. Not the Veela, not the Resistance. And, even though it had removed his freedom, it had also removed any danger to his life.

During his recovery, both twins had sat by his bedside and talked an awful lot with him about their new situation together. He had nothing left. His inheritance, own belongings, and those other assets of the Houses of Black and Potter now belonged to the Patils, who were now Lady Black (Padma) and Lady Potter (Parvati). And given that their new world together involved an awful lot of Veela and a great deal of pairing off with the magical population of Britain, they decided it would be all right if the three of them stayed together to protect the British-ness of all they now owned.

Despite his new status as an agent of the House of Patil and the upheaval at the Ministry in the middle of a change in power, Harry was still able to return as an Auror. Most of the Ministry staff had stayed on with the Occupation as well, and Veela from across the Continent had come in to bolster the ranks. Rebekka herself had been an Auror five years longer than he had. In truth, he was only in his sixth month on the job. He was just eighteen; she was in her non-specific twenties. She had powers to enthrall, entice, and induce. He had the ability to resist all those powers. Together, they patrolled what was left of the British Wizarding World as one of the few gender-split Auror teams.

Now she picked up her quill again and finished writing down the report of their earlier arrest. “'Suspect then attempted to Transfigure himself into an armoire so as to conceal himself in the antique shop, except suspect ended up as a player piano instead. Aurors and Healers at St. Mungo's are attempting to reverse the process, but note that suspect is currently only able to answer questions with selections from Chopin.' There, I believe that sums up our afternoon rather nicely.” She shoved the parchment over to him. “Sign there.”

“You. Are. A lifesaver,” he told her, scrawling his signature at the bottom and rolling it up.

“I'm glad you think that of me.” Spinning his chair around once more, she put her arms behind her head and leaned back. “So, let's get back to what I think we should do this weekend. I want you to meet me at the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow for lunch. Say one-ish. If you show up with a gloriously cheesy grin and your shoulders as relaxed as mine, I win a pair of those wristbands for Christmas.”

Harry sighed. She wasn't going to let go of it. “Rebekka, there's no need to do this. Believe me, I'm well taken care of.”

“ _However_ , if you show up and look just as tired as you are now without looking just as relaxed, then I'll go shopping for a Christmas present of your own. Your pick, within my budget.” She winked at him. “Lunch, however, is always on me. Since I'm dragging you away from a warm house.”

He decided to up the stakes, to see if she was serious. “As long as you show up in those trousers you wore on that September stakeout.” One night early in their partnership, when the two of them had had to go undercover in a local den of iniquity, Rebekka had shown up in the most fantastic pair of leather trousers he'd ever seen on a woman. With her silver-blonde mane of hair hanging just above the belt loops, she'd looked stunning. Their suspects had pretty much leapt right into her arms.

She raised her eyebrows. “I'd forgotten about those. They're probably somewhere in the back of my closet. All right, Harry. You've got a deal.” Getting up, she shook his hand to seal the bargain. “Now, let's go home. We're the last ones out of here again.”

\- - - - - -

“Veela in leather trousers,” said Parvati with a sigh of longing. “Mmm mmmm mmm. The bitch probably has an ass you could bounce a Sickle off of.”

“ _Off of which_ you could bounce a Sickle,” corrected Padma from the other side of the table. “And that's his Auror partner you're slanging.”

“Don't care,” she said cheerfully. “Veela. Bitch. Same thing. Harry, you have to have her over for a supper sometime to I can try poisoning her.”

Harry rolled his eyes, exchanging smiles with Hermione beside him. Parvati and Rebekka would be fondest of friends within two seconds of meeting each other, mostly because they both so thoroughly enjoyed teasing him.

“Smart woman, though,” Parvati continued, validating his thoughts. “She wants Harry to get laid and de-stress. And she wants us to do it.” She looked extremely amused. “You're quite sure she doesn't know what we already do to you?” She glanced aside. “Sorry if we're scandalizing you with improper dinner conversation, Hermione.”

Hermione waved it off. “It's no Ravenclaw debate society dinner, but I wouldn't miss seeing the three of you together for the world.”

Harry clinked goblets with her gratefully. When the First Wave had been looking for mates, the remaining four Weasley sons (Charlie had returned to Romania just hours before) had each taken up with Veela. Hermione could have pitched the same sort of fit as Molly Weasley over Ron's enthralling, but instead she had taken up a quiet relationship with Terry Boot of Ravenclaw while both of them were back at Hogwarts. They had elected to stay and do, in his case re-do, their seventh year. Now, on her Christmas break, she was visiting Harry and the Patils before going to visit Terry's family.

“Well, Harry's been rather neglecting us this week,” Padma said, resting her chin in a cupped hand. “But we've been terribly busy, too. I've been overseeing things at the unicorn breeding station, Parvati's working on the Christmas broadcast with that new wizarding folk-metal band, and both of us had that Wizengamot session the other night. So I think we've been neglecting him, too.”

“No one said being a lady of stature and power would be easy,” Hermione said with a smile. “I'm actually feeling slightly sorry for Lucius Malfoy, what with all the work he had to do to play both sides and keep making all that gold. I hope you two are at least managing Harry's money well.”

“Dad handles the family finances.” Parvati sipped at her tea, looking quite pleased. “We got the titles and he gave us a couple of small bits of the Potter and Black Family holdings, just so we could make something of ourselves. Harry was sort of an unexpected extra.” She shot him a look of pure adoration. “And then we discovered that the bond did more than we thought.”

“I've only read about the bond,” Hermione said wistfully, tracing the handle of her teacup as Harry returned Parvati's interested look.

“Easily demonstrated.” Parvati pushed her chair back. “Harry?”

He felt the usual thrill pass through his body as he got up. There were two parts to his bond with the twins. The first was his obedience to them and the House. Then there was the second part. And he loved it every time Parvati or Padma requested it of him. Words that he once had trouble saying now came so easily, his appreciation of them increasing as the need for them had lessened.

He carefully knelt in front of her as she turned her chair to face him. Pushing his sleeves back to reveal his wristbands, he clasped one fist in the other and settled them in her lap. “My Lady.”

Parvati grinned over his head. “Don't you love it, the way he says that?” She held his wrists with both hands. “Do you trust me?”

He felt the first stirrings. “With my magic.”

Smiling, she brought his hands up to her lips and kissed his knuckles. “I found you when you were lost.”

“And your love is my life,” he breathed.

With that, the bond ignited and, for a split second, everything else vanished as they both inhaled the power that flowed between them. Harry's whole world was silhouetted in her dark, beautiful eyes as she leaned closer and her mouth met his in a searing kiss. Her moan was soft in her throat, her tongue light and teasing, and her thighs were vibrating against his hands. She tasted of energy, too, and warmed his face with a deep, hot exhale of power just as they pulled apart again.

“You are _ours_ ,” Parvati purred, licking her lips. “None will taste you, claim you, _take_ you as we will.”

Harry grinned. “And yet, that comforts me.” He glanced at a wide-eyed Hermione, sensing Parvati doing the same. “Seen enough?”

She coughed lightly and set her own teacup down. “Well, thank you ever so much for dinner. But I think you three need to spend the rest of the night with each other.”

Padma smiled and reached over to cover Hermione's hand to stop her from getting up. “You've barely touched your tea and I know it's your favourite. Stay and finish. We have to go and set up the mood anyway. Harry.” She looked at him. “Stay with her, catch up on your old life, then be a gentleman and walk her out. We'll wait in our room.”

Parvati stroked his hair fondly as she rose and accompanied her sister up the stairs, pausing to hug Hermione on the way past. Only when they were out of sight did Harry get up and retake his seat. “Feel like joining? We get to have our own job outside the House.”

She looked at him with a mixture of admiration and fear. “That was something else. Harry, what happened to you? You're ... different than you were six months ago.”

“New life. New reasons for living, too.” He turned his palms up. “Just like everyone else these days. And ten days in the dark will change a perspective or two.”

Hermione hesitated. “Fair enough,” she finally admitted. “At least we're making progress with the new Ministry. There's enough magical marriages right now to start building the population back up after Voldemort killed so many Muggleborns. The Veela are making very good matches, both male and female. And, if you can believe it, they're getting us all on track to catch up socially and magically with the rest of wizarding Europe. I mean, my God, half of the Department of International Magical Co-operation has figured out how to use a pencil!”

Harry nodded. Safety and secrecy, plus a certain stupidity over the last couple of decades, if one were brutally honest, had resulted in magical Britain being left behind the Continent in many areas. Kalyana Tzentatova, the new Veela Minister for Magic, had already announced a number of reforms to reconnect Britain to magical Europe after their last two Wars had isolated them so thoroughly. She had also apologized for the sudden influx of Veela, but thanked both populations for assimilating together so quickly. “So the resistance movement has subsided?”

“Well, I think the chance for great sex has something to do with it.” She sighed and took a long drink of tea. “Once the Second Wave arrived and there were more men around, a lot of witches stopped hexing any Veela they saw. There haven't been any reported attacks for four months. And people are realizing that things are getting better. What was once, 'You'll never take us alive!' is now, 'Oh, well. That's all right, then! Better than a whack on the pecker with a dead flounder!'.”

He snorted in amusement. “Terry doing all right?”

Hermione smiled. “Lovely man. I wish I'd known the Ravenclaws better at Hogwarts. I'm getting the chance now, mind you, but I really do wish.” She drained her teacup with a little bit of effort. “Come on. If you show me out now, Parvati's body will still be warm from her shower.”

“Don't let us push you out,” Harry told her as he followed her up the stairs. “Hermione, you're always welcome here.”

“Not tonight, I'm not,” she said, smiling back at him. “I saw that look in your eyes after Parvati bonded with you. Your body wants to be upstairs, rather than chatting with me.” She paused at the front door to wrap her muffler against the snow outside. “Happy Christmas, Harry.”

“Happy Christmas.” He handed over her cloak and watched her pull her gloves out of its pockets. “We're all still alive. And in love. And loved. That counts for a lot right now, I think.”

She gave him a rib-crushing hug. “And I think,” she whispered in his ear, “you're content.” With a kiss on his cheek, she let him go and fastened her neck clasp. “And that's okay. Now, get upstairs and don't keep the pretty girls waiting.” The door opened for her and she stepped out. As it swung shut again, Harry heard the muffled _crack_ of her Disapparation.

Behind him, several flights of stairs away, a voice breathed down. _“Harry . . .”_ The scent of cloves and mandarin oranges drifted around him, along with a rustle that sounded very like a body moving against satin. The feminine giggle that followed sounded incredibly pleased as it drew him up the staircase.

At the first floor landing, the scent shifted to jasmine and the breath tickled the rims of his ears, nudging him onwards with a gentle brush around the nape of his neck. Rustling came again and the giggle was followed by an appreciative moan.

The sensations grew stronger, brushing his robes with brief touches here and there on his body as he continued to climb. A soft, very intimate touch caressed him as he passed the second floor landing, curling around him, coaxing gently and tugging him higher. Hot breath tickled his face, touched his lips, and even parted them with slight pressure, stealing an invisible kiss.

“You're everywhere,” he said, smiling as her power rolled over his shoulders. “Are you in a trance, My Lady?”

Parvati's voice whispered in his ear, somehow leaving a wet lick against his skin. “I'm just thinking of all the things I'm going to do to you, Harry. Is it my fault you're enjoying them?” Vanilla and maple scents wafted past his nose as a touch brushed his eyebrows. “Teasing you is fun.” Her low, deep sigh echoed in both of his ears at the same time, holding the hint of a whine. “Ohh. _Ohhhh._ . .”

Pausing on the third floor landing, Harry closed his eyes as pressure thrummed around his cock inside his trousers. “That's interesting. Do you feel good, too?”

“Mmmhmmm.” She made another little noise. “It's still steamy in here. Would you like to join me?”

“I've had my shower,” he told her, following a new, spicy scent down the hallway to the playroom. With only three of them in Grimmauld Place, they'd set aside a room for when there was a ... different sort of desire. They each had their own bedrooms and would visit them for sex, but there were just times when there wasn't the need to put your own bedsheets in disarray.

“Oh, no need for you to get wet again,” purred her voice. “I'm nice and dry, except where it counts.”

Harry smiled as he undid his wristbands and set them on the hall table so they wouldn't get damp, then opened the door. In the entranceway, just to one side, was a pile of robes, clothes, and bras, with the twins' underwear neatly and blatantly laid out on top. Both women had apparently worn the same colour. Undressing quickly, Harry added his clothes to the pile one at a time, folding everything just right before he turned his attention to the rest of the room.

There was a slowly moving form on the bed, caught in the soft glow of a lamp on the nightstand. As it shifted position, he caught a glimpse of the light patch on the side of her left breast. Padma, he realized. Her feet were kicking slowly as she lay on her stomach, upper body propped on her forearms. Her hips were rocking with the motions of her legs and she only looked up from her book when he stroked his palm over her tailbone. “Hello,” she murmured, putting her bookmark in. “Keep doing that, please? Mmmmm. . . ”

He sat beside her, kneading a spot just above her right hip that was often tender for her. “Learning a new position?” He peeked at the title: _'I Was a Teenage Ravenclaw in Hufflepuff House!'_. “I . . . see.”

Padma giggled. “Here, let me show you.” She rolled slightly to show him her nude body. As he bent down to her, her lips brushed his cheek. And with a lick and an 'mmph', she had fastened her mouth onto his throat. His eyelids fluttered as he leaned into the hot, wet suction, Padma working him softly with light brushes of her tongue, her face buried against his neck. Then the spot began to throb and she abruptly pulled away. “Badger Bite,” she explained, smirking and stroking the hickey she'd left behind. “All the rage in trashy Hufflepuff romances.”

Harry held her wrist and kissed it. “Tease, you are.”

“Pay me back later,” she suggested, nodding to the other side of the bedroom. “She's waiting.”

He looked at the shower stall in the far corner. Steam rose up from it through the ceiling vent. It was only steps from the carpet to the tile, through modified Impervius charms that kept the condensation from ruining the furnishings. In the proper lighting, one could stand beneath the spray and never disturb a sleeper. But under a different set of lights, it was possible to lie in bed and watch the water stream down a person's body.

Those lights were on now.

Parvati had wrapped a towel around her waist as she stood at the mirror, clearing the condensation from it. She peeked back at him from a cleared spot and waggled her fingers in greeting. Then, turning around, she moved towards them with her hips swaying. Her long black hair was damp and frizzing in the steam, pushed back to show her firm, bare breasts and the water beaded on them. “Hi. You made it.” Glancing down at his erection, she smiled. “And you seem happy to be here.”

“Three floors of anticipation, without you even being there.” he told her, stepping across the Charms to join her, his glasses misting over briefly. “You're a marvel.”

“It was that little bit of bonding we did downstairs,” she murmured, taking his hands in hers and drawing him back into the damp shower chamber with her. “Even the water couldn't cool me down from that.” Behind them, they heard the bed creak.

Harry touched her hips beneath the towel, enjoying the sight of her breasts right in front of him. “Well, what do you think we should do about that?”

Parvati flicked her wrist and the knot at her waist came undone, the towel falling around her feet as she kicked it out of the shower stall. “I have an idea.” Moving, she slipped behind him and pressed him into the wall, face first. With his cheek pushed against the tile, Harry sighed as she fetched her body up against him from behind. Then her wet little tongue touched the still-prickling mark on his throat. “Awww. Did Padma mark you, Harry? Whatever will your Veela partner think?” She slid higher, licking his ear as she kept rubbing herself against his bare back. Her hips continued to sway as well, pushing at him, pressing his body against the wall and trapping his erection between his stomach and the tiles. “Mmm,” she purred in delight. “Just the way I want you.”

The soft snap of a bottle lid came, then clicked shut again. Then Parvati wriggled a hand over his stomach, and Harry gave a startled gasp as he felt her incredibly slick palm circle the tip of his cock. “Still, Harry,” she gently admonished, resting her free hand on his hip as she continued to ride his rear, which made his cock slide even more between her hand and his stomach. “Nice and slow. Breathe, too. Remember to breathe.”

He groaned as she kissed the nape of his neck, his palms flat against the wall. Her fingers had curled around his length, tugging up, sliding down, so slick and warm as they moved around and around. She was sparking sensations by tracing his tip, rubbing him against cool tile, then his own warm flesh, then wrapping him up in her tight little fist once more. “Feels good,” he breathed, exhaling all the way, then breathing in again.

“Good.” She shifted against him and he felt her other hand slide down. A soft sigh and wiggle of her hips against him told him that she had started strumming herself as well. “Close your eyes. Think back on things. Let's get it out of your system.” Her thumb and forefinger formed a circle around the head of his cock and began moving steadily up and down. “Remember all that allure you felt this week . . . let it come back. I know it's still in your mind.”

His groan was deeper this time, not wanting to move as her breasts were caressing his back. She and her twin had spent months teaching him, showing him the control he would need in their new world. As his eyes closed, his mind swam with visions of silvery-blonde hair, all the women who'd cast their charms at him out in Diagon Alley. The allure had swirled around him every time, inquisitive, hopeful, asking him to show his interest in them, only to pull back in disappointment when they saw his Family wristbands. Every bright-eyed glance, every twitch of a hip, and every tug on his heart that wanted to know if he'd love her. He let them all appear from the place in his memory where Veela planted their hooks. And, as Parvati continued to softly pull on him from behind, her body sliding against his, he felt those hooks begin to slide free. Flashes of pretty, longing, platinum-blonde women dissolved from his mind. He moaned softly, partly from the sensations, partly from the relief of the allure being dispersed.

“There we go.” Parvati made a soft noise, giving his shoulder a soft bite and lick. “You're de-stressing, love. I can feel it. Mmm.” Her fingers stroked the slick head of his cock with his own foreskin. “Good boy.” She kissed a few spots along his spine, sending shivers up and down as she pushed him nicely against the tile. “I think we're going to make you come like this.” Her stroking picked up a bit of speed, her own breathing matching it as she ground her own hips against him. “Wouldn't you like to, Harry?”

He nodded, eyes squeezed shut in want. He knew Parvati's body so well and the thoughts of her sliding against him had shoved aside the few last lingering images of any Veela he'd ever encountered. She'd found a perfect rhythm now against his back and it would only be a matter of time before both of them were tipping over the edge.

And then there was a crash and a startled cry from out in the bedroom.

His eyes shot open and he pushed himself off the wall, cursing inwardly at not having his wand nearby. Parvati's was no doubt in her wand-tree. As he launched himself past her, nearly skidding on the bathroom mat, he hoped Padma had kept hers handy.

Leaving wet footprints on the carpet, Harry rolled and collided with the bed as he tried to assess the threat while not presenting a target. He could see the clothing pile now, where his wand was still probably in his pocket. But that was his main phoenix-feather wand. He'd learned after the vault debacle that they almost never expected there to be more than one. Reaching up to the headboard, he tapped twice on the secret compartment and his backup wand fell into his hand. Good. Re-armed.

He cautiously lifted up the duvet and peered beneath the bed-frame. There was a flicker of movement on the other side, just visible beneath the edges of the dust ruffle. “Padma?” he whispered.

There was a soft groan. “It's okay, Harry. I just . . . mmmph. I just knocked something over.”

Harry glanced back at Parvati, who had flattened herself against the far wall, just out of sight of the doorway. With a few hand gestures, he asked her if she'd seen anyone else before she had dove out of sight. They couldn't be sure Padma wasn't under an Imperius Curse just yet. But Parvati shook her head and mimed back that she could only see a bare leg.

Number 12 was supposed to be Unplottable, with anti-Apparation wards and all sorts of other protections. But one never knew when something would be designed that defeated all of those measures. So Harry cast a spell that made his voice come from ten feet away. “Padma, talk to me.”

“I'm all right, Harry. God, this is embarrassing.” He heard shuffling and something clanked. The bedside floor lamp, he recognized. If she was arming herself, he hated to have to incapacitate her.

He glanced at Parvati again, who, to his surprise, risked another peek and then giggled. “Aww, poor you. You just couldn't wait for us to get out, could you?” She stepped out of her hiding place and padded across the carpet. “Harry, it's all right. And whatever you do, don't laugh. Or we'll both have to hurt you.”

Harry frowned in confusion, but got up, wincing slightly as his now half-erect cock bounced against the frame of the bed, and saw a still-nude Padma untangling herself from the cord of the lamp. A few books were strewn around her, having fallen off the wall-mounted shelf overhead, and, out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of her 'special toys' sticking out from the wall, mounted on a slender column. It was a thick solid gel, shimmering blue, and still shining with lube. He fought very, very hard to keep from smiling.

Parvati, rubbing her sister's knee, shot him another warning look as she carefully picked up books with the other hand. “Did anything land on you?”

Padma shook her head. “I just rocked the shelf a little harder than I intended and some of my books knocked the lamp over. It missed me, though. I'm okay.” She glanced over at Harry as he slid across the bed and knelt beside them both. “Sorry.”

“Don't apologize, love.” Harry touched her cool skin as well. “Were you lonely?”

“No,” she murmured, her dark skin shading a little as she blushed. “I was having fun watching you, but I couldn't get the angle I wanted. It was there, but I couldn't do it without twisting my wrist the wrong way. So I thought I'd be clever.” Her eyes flicked up at him. “Clever, but not too bright.”

Parvati giggled. Of course. She could laugh and he couldn't. “Well...” Harry considered that. “What if we cleared your spare bookshelf off? Do you think you could reach that spot again?”

Padma tilted her head up and kissed him. “Mmm. But you're here now. I don't need silly toys when I've got you to play with.” She nibbled on his lips.

“Flattering,” he admitted, nuzzling her nose. “But what if I've never seen you like that when I'm not behind you? I would love to see your face when you stroke those spots that only I can reach. Or,” He nodded at the toy still charmed to the wall, “he can reach.” He rubbed her thigh in gentle circles. “Do you want to take a minute and get back into the mood?”

She looked surprised. “Really?”

He nodded. “Of course. I trust you.”

Her eyes sparkled in sudden understanding and she shifted position to sit up on her knees as well. “With your magic?”

“With everything that was once mine,” he agreed.

Padma made a soft noise of approval as she slowly leaned forward. Just as their lips were about to touch, she whispered, “For I will help you and never hurt you.”

As her mouth covered his, their bond flared to life. She pressed breast to chest with him, thigh against thigh, and gave herself over to his kisses as he held her close. The same rush of power that Parvati had given him earlier now swirled around them and they drank deeply from it, both of them breathing hot, _living_ energy into each other as they slid apart just seconds later.

Padma licked her lips as tendrils of sparkling power danced around them. “You are ours,” she said with a low sigh. “And I do love ritual,” she added, moaning as she rotated her neck, stretching, “because that feels _so_ damned good. I needed that.” Her interest obviously reawakened, she leaned forward for him. “Touch me?”

Harry palmed her breast gently, eliciting another pleased purr from her. She normally wasn't much for being fondled, but embraced it as an occasional perk, letting herself be stroked. And as he slid his fingers beneath the line of her breast, he enjoyed the relaxed look in her eyes. “How's this?” His thumb passed over a dark nipple.

“Comfortable,” she murmured. For her, that was a deep compliment. “How was Parvati's cock-teasing?”

“Up to her usual standards,” he said, smiling as Parvati came back from moving books to flop down beside them. Switching hands to pay some attention to Padma's other breast, he reached out with his right hand to brush the soft curve of her sister's, tracing the outline of one of her nipples. Responding by rolling onto her side and nestling closer, Parvati plucked his hand and moved it over to cup her fully, guiding his touch to where she wanted it. “There,” she said with a contented sigh, “Mmm. No, there... over... Ohh, that's it.” She peeked up at him. “Perfectly good bed handy and we're all on the floor.”

“Not enough room on the headboard for me to back all the way up onto Big Blue,” Padma pointed out, gently sliding a thigh between Harry's. “I needed that column because it lets me get my knees back.”

“That's because you've got a greedy little snatch.” Parvati flicked some of her thick hair aside. “When you flex all those Kegel muscles, Harry looks like he's caught in the Full-Cock Vise. I've seen the expression on his face.”

“You're learning, too,” Padma said, tipping Harry a wink. “One day soon, if you keep practising your Kegels, you'll be able to Stupefy him with one twitch of your pussy.”

“Yum,” murmured Parvati, stretching as Harry's' hand brushed over her stomach to rest on her mound. He combed his fingers through her pubic curls, eliciting more pleased noises from her. She parted her thighs and his fingertips slid right along her pussy lips, almost slipping into her because she was so slick.

Padma knelt up and bit his ear softly. “She's loving that,” she said, her breath hot as her mouth brushed tenderly across his earlobe, “so don't stop.” She matched that with a kiss on his cheek. “We taught you yoni massage well, didn't we?”

He didn't reply, other than to nod and breathe encouragingly when her hand brushed his cock. He was still semi-hard from Parvati's teasing, even though the cool air had deflated him somewhat. Padma's hand was warm, however, and the lube she'd anointed herself and her toy with felt good as she stroked him up and down, doing her best to match his finger speed as he continued to caress her sister.

“Oh, and just for your information, I used the flavoured lube this time,” she told him, sliding back to stretch out on her stomach on his other side, opposite Parvati. “Just in case you feel like snacking on me later, like I'm about to do to you.” Her lips nibbled at his cock. As he twitched at her attentions, she cupped his shaft and slowly engulfed him into a hot, wet mouth.

Harry's groan mingled with Parvati's as his fingers finally parted her and stroked her clit. Wriggling, she corralled his hand and, eyeing her twin's slowly bobbing head, began guiding his touch in a slow circle at roughly the same speed. “Just like that,” she breathed, moving with him. “God, just like that.”

The three of them were quiet, except for the sound of their breathing and the soft, wet noises of Padma blowing him. Harry had one hand between Parvati's thighs and the other stroking Padma's thick, dark hair. She was doing some damn intimate things to his groin with her fingers, but her hair hid the specifics from him as the pressure, kneading, and suction kept making his cock jerk in her mouth. And Parvati was lying back, kneading her own breasts as her hips continued to rock with his massaging of her clit.

Padma finally lifted her head, tongue slipping out to lap the tip of his cock. “Mmmmm. I think you wanted to watch me buck on Big Blue, didn't you? See my face just when that great big cock starts to fuck my tight pussy?”

“Merlin help us when you talk dirty,” Parvati said, rolling her eyes, even as a shudder went through her body. “No one would think you were a Ravenclaw with that mouth.” She arched her back with a satisfied sigh as two of Harry's fingers finally slid into her own pussy. “Oh, _fuck_.”

Unable to stop himself, Harry laughed. Whenever he got either of the twins to a certain level of arousal, both of them got mouths like Auror Field Instructors. It was one of their most private secrets.

Padma gave him one last, swirling kiss on the head of his cock and raised herself up onto all fours. As she glanced back over her shoulder, judging the distance between herself and the blue dildo jutting out of the column, she winked at him. “Mmm. Promise you won't get jealous, Harry?”

“Depends on what I'm jealous of,” he said, “How big is he?”

“A bit shorter than you,” Padma admitted, “but he's about as wide and he's got this lovely little curve that's perfect for hitting my G-spot. I just tend to favour you, because you're warm, and tasty, and play with my breasts when you're kneeling behind me.” She pushed her hair aside, only for it to dangle over her shoulders again as she lowered her hips and spread her knees wider for balance.

“Harry,” Parvati breathed, carefully taking his wrist and easing his fingers out of her, “lie down in front of me. Sideways.” She shoved a couple of pillows at him as she rolled onto her side, putting her back to her sister. Patting a spot by her hips, she coaxed him into lying on his side, cushions propped under his ribs. She bent a knee for him, guiding his hand back into her sopping curls with a low, pleased groan, then, when he'd found his rhythm once again, grasped his hip and yanked the lower half of his body closer so that her wet mouth enveloped his cock.

He could see Padma backing up even as he was nuzzling and kissing the side of Parvati's knee, her curled leg at a perfect height for him to taste her just as she was tasting him. Her tongue was as warm and slippery as an Ashwinder and she knew how to use it in a writhing, swirling suck that made his breath hitch.

Another noise from Padma returned his attention to her little sideshow, which he could easily watch over the curve of Parvati's hip. Padma had arched her back, head up, as her hips rolled in little circles and sought the lubed tip of her toy. She shuddered suddenly and her eyes nearly crossed, then she gave herself a shake. “Damn, prodded my clit,” she mumbled. “God, I want your tongue there later, after I ... nnnngh...!” Her low, indulgent whine heralded her sudden penetration and she rocked in place. “Harry, watch me. Watch me fuck myself silly.”

There was a badly-restrained snort of amusement from his lap as Parvati lifted her head briefly to snicker against his abdomen. Then she dipped down again and her gentle blowjob resumed. Harry murmured his appreciation to her, his own fingers curling up inside her to rub the roof of her pussy, doing his best to try and stroke her G-spot.

Padma continued pressing back, her beautiful eyes wide as her toy sank deeper. With a final, theatrical wiggle, she hilted herself and dropped onto her elbows with a satisfied growl, lifting her rump higher and rubbing it against the curve of the column as her knees slid back on either side. “This is how I feel when you're in me, Harry.” She swayed forward, then pushed back again with a little grunt, engaging in a little ride. “Mmmmph!”

“And that's how she sounds, all right,” Parvati said, propping herself up so she could kiss his hip. “Come on, lie back. I really want to get you inside me and you can watch sugar-tits here get herself off in front of us.” She picked up his backup wand and traced the tip around the head of his cock, coating his shaft in conjured, lubed latex. Even though she was pure-blooded, Lavender had introduced her to Muggle contraceptives and Parvati vastly preferred them to potions or charms. “All right?”

He sat up enough so he could cup her face and kiss her. “She'll get lonely soon enough and join us,” he said, grinning. Then a gasp made him look over at the rapturous, glassy-eyed gaze on Padma's face. Her back was well-arched again, with muscles in her hips and lower back flexing around her toy.

“God, she's rippling,” Parvati murmured, one leg half-over his waist, and Harry agreed with the awe in her tone. He'd been the beneficiary of Padma's well-developed pelvic muscles before. He often couldn't remember the build-up or the subsequent orgasm, but he appreciated all the hours of practice she'd put into them. And he, along with Parvati, had been doing their best to learn the same sort of control, which made him appreciate the conditioning all the more. Padma wasn't orgasming right now, but the look on her face told him that she was well within the range of being ready.

Then his gazing was interrupted by Parvati finishing straddling him and tucking his sheathed cock between her thighs. A slow, deliberate tilt of her head, hair falling over one shoulder, and then a flick of her hips, and she was sinking down his length, welcoming him in in a smooth, long slide. “Fuck, that always feels bloody marvellous,” she panted, screwing her hips around to ensure she had him completely inside her. “I'm so very glad we chose you.” She leaned down to kiss him and the snug fit of her groin sparked a sudden, fierce spasm of his cock, even through the latex, and caused him to grip her hips and inhale deeply, trying to hold onto some measure of control.

Trying to calm himself down, Harry reached one hand up to caress her breastbone, rubbing her between her lovely, full breasts. Soft strokes of her inner curves were a favourite of hers and, as he ran his palm along that delicious spot, he felt her pussy flutter around him in pleasure.

“Oooh,” she whispered. “I don't think I can manage it yet. Harry?”

“I'm feeling you,” he assured her, tracing the sway of her hip with his other hand. “I'm holding myself back right now, because you're fitting onto me so tight that if I don't, I'm done for.”

“Mmmph.” She smiled and breathed in, then out. He saw her abdomen tighten and her inner muscles did something that felt as if she were sucking his cock deeper, with a firm, tugging heat on it that made his vision swim.

He could only pat her thigh, breathing harder. “I give, love, I give! Unless you want me to come right now, ease up.”

Her smile widened as she preened a little, then relaxed her body again, making him groan with relief. Merlin, that was close. And he'd always been taught by them to get the woman to her climax first. “One of these days, when we're both at her level, we'll duel properly.” Parvati told him, giving a little flex of her thighs. Then she slid up a couple of inches and relaxed her legs, letting gravity sink her softly back down onto his lap again. “Mmm. Can't decide.” A sideways shift of her hips followed in a slow, tortuous roll of bliss.

“Decide what?” he asked, breathing hard through his mouth as she sparked more sensations.

“If we should just sit still and watch Padma come like crazy . . . or get her to pull herself off the damn thing and join us.”

As she kept the light circling of her hips around him, both of them looked over at Padma, whose eyes were already rolling back, her soft panting almost frantic. “Looks like she knows what she wants to do,” he commented. “Remind me to take her from behind in front of a mirror sometime.”

Parvati sighed. “You could always take me from behind in front of her, too.”

Harry squeezed her knee, the one that wasn't tender from the War. “Stop that. You two aren't the same person. Not to me.”

She gazed at him lovingly and rewarded him with another flutter of her pelvic muscles. “Flatterer. Good thing I appreciate flattery.”

“Oi, coming here!” Padma gasped, rocking back against the column with some pop in her hip thrusts.

“Wonderful. Don't bring the house down,” Parvati instructed, grinning as she half-twisted around to watch. “Merlin, woman, that's hot!”

Padma gave a rather undignified yelp as her hips performed a corkscrew, her strong thighs flexing on either side of the marble and Harry swore Parvati's hips unconsciously mimicked her twin's at just that particular moment, knocking him nearly flat with the sensations. When his vision had cleared, Parvati was breathing hard, looking stunned, and Padma had nearly collapsed in a boneless heap, held up only by her quivering hips as she kept bucking back against the hilt of her toy, aftershocks splintering her control.

“Was that the bond?” he asked, feeling himself twitch inside Parvati. Whatever it was, he was still hard.

Groaning, Padma shook her head as she tried to get back up onto her hands and knees. “Hasn't ever done that before.”

“No sparks, no flash,” Parvati agreed, wide-eyed, “but _holy fuck_ , that was intense. Did you put a new charm on that damn toy?”

“Not bloody likely! It's Muggle.” She whimpered as she finally slid off and curled up, palms and knees red from the rug. “Harry, we're doing it missionary style, later. My knees will thank you for it.”

He laughed as Parvati snuggled down onto his chest and resumed riding him, rump slapping him softly as she bounced. “I'll have to survive this first.”

“Oh, poor you,” Parvati said, smirking and settling a gentle rhythm. “We would never shag you to death.”

“No, just into delirium.”.

Her pink tongue slipped out to tease him softly, her forehead brushing against his. “Mmm. Come on, lover. You're still hard.”

Harry sighed in longing. “I know. Want to do something about it?”

“What, be responsible for your ultimate pleasure? Oh, hold me back.” She purred approvingly, pressing him down with her body weight. “Ohh, there's a good boy. Let me handle this.”

Her mouth brushed his, just as he felt more warm breath tickling his ear. Turning his head, he was greeted by a hot kiss from Padma. When she let him go, she smiled. “We're terrible,” she said, looking utterly relaxed herself. “Thank Merlin we're only like this seven days a week.”

Harry laughed as he brushed her hair aside to stroke a dark cheek. Her gold and silver stud earrings twinkled in contrast to her gorgeous eyes. Then Parvati moaned into his ear, biting at him, and he felt the first stirrings of another attempt by her at flexing her pelvic muscles. “Ohhh.”

Padma moved swiftly to claim his mouth with her own again, French-kissing him just as Parvati clenched down on him and buried her face in his shoulder. Both sensations together blew his self-control to pieces and he felt his cock pulse inside Parvati's soft, wet heat, with nowhere for him to go but with the pull of her pussy.

Parvati sobbed against his neck, losing all control herself as her body clenched, rippled, and enveloped him in her orgasm. He could feel himself spilling over inside her, too, his hot, heavy come flooding the head of his cock. The warm pulses filled the latex quickly and he groaned at the sensations. Then, just when he thought it was all over, Parvati fluttered again on him and an aftershock made his cock jerk up even as he was softening.

Gasping, Harry found Padma's tongue stealing the breath from his body and he had to twist away before he ran out of air. Turning his head away, he ended up instead with a mouthful of Parvati's hair, accidentally nipping the tip of her earlobe as she was panting through an intense climax of her own.

“ _Tease!_ ” she whined, whipping her hair aside. “God, Harry. Padma, give the poor boy a breath or we really will end up shagging him to death. And then his partner will have our hides.”

“Wouldn't mind having her hide,” mumbled her sister as she rolled onto her back, wiping her chin. “She stopped by the breeding station the other month about something. Rowr!”

“Oh, come on, no pandering to Harry's pseudo-lesbian fantasies while he's too out of it to appreciate them.” said Parvati, carefully breathing into his ear. She wiggled on him, then lifted her hips and gently, carefully, pulled off with a low, wet noise of separating bodies. “And here I swore I'd stop having sex all over the house.” Gently, she stripped the condom from him and Vanished it. Before he could stop her, she dipped her head down and licked him clean in a few strokes, eyes glimmering as she gave a deliberate swallow and grinned. “Oh, don't look so shocked. I'm going to sit myself down on your face later and you'll pay me back then.” She mmmed and kissed him just above his tight curls. “Come on. Perfectly good bed going to waste.”

Harry sat up with some effort. “In a minute. Did either of you want the bathroom first?” Receiving double murmured negatives, he kissed both women. “Be right back, then.”

When he returned to the playroom, he picked his wristbands up off the hall table and carried them in. If the twins wanted him back in his role as intimate of the House rather than personal lover, he'd put them on again.

But only Padma was there, running her wand carefully up and down her toy, Scourgifying it. “Thanks love,” she told him as he crawled onto the bed with her. “Think we should incorporate toys more often?”

Harry settled down and put his head in her lap. “When the mood strikes, I think,” he said. “Besides, that was a side of you I hadn't seen before.” Tilting his head, he kissed her warm thigh and then relaxed again. “It was kind of hot.”

“Watching you two like you were was hot, too,” she agreed. “And I liked you watching me. Parvati's seen that all before when we're practising Kegels, but you haven't.” Her legs shifted and she stroked his hair as she set her dildo down, beginning to scratch him back and forth lightly just above his ears. “Thanks for not asking me why I've got toys when I have you. I just can't tear you away from work or what-not whenever I'm feeling randy. Plus a girl likes a little solo time now and again. It's simple stress relief.”

“For the record,” Parvati interrupted, joining them, still just as nude as either of them, “I borrow hers, having none of my own.”

“Oh, Hippogriff droppings. You've got that lovely silver sterile toy case Lavender gave you for our birthday. I doubt its eight slots are all empty.”

“Hmmph.” Parvati's fingers joined her sister's as they massaged Harry's scalp. “I guess we need to talk about your little wager. Veela-bitch gets her wristbands. Although,” she added, “is she entitled to them? If she's not swearing allegiance to the Noble and Most Naked House of Patil, we can't bond her. Which is a shame. It would do wonders for our standing in the Wizengamot.”

“Temporary service?” Padma suggested, thumb and forefinger kneading the nape of his neck. “I mean, you're right. We can't let her just have a pair without consequence. Everyone would think she's ours. But maybe if we could use her contacts in Denmark to make some new friends? Then she doesn't have to be bonded, just a known associate.”

“Still, two Aurors in one pocket? Dangerous precedent if that got out.”

Harry sighed in relaxation, one of the twins rubbing his forehead. “I do love the pillow talk in this house. 'Fuck me senseless, Harry!' 'How was it for you, darling?' 'Magnificent. Now, let's make plans to subjugate a Veela!'.”

Parvati thwapped him in the ribs, making him 'oof!'. “Hush, you. They already took us over. Just a little tit for tat.” Her eyes brightened. “Oooh, there's an idea.” She cupped one of her breasts and inched higher on the bed to offer it to him. “You haven't been keeping your mouth occupied at all tonight. Time to fix that.” Cradling his head, she gently shoved her nipple into his mouth.

\- - - - - -

The tiny, curvy Veela waitress at the end of the bar gazed up at him as he shook damp snow off his cloak. “Late night, Mister Potter?” Her allure was welcoming and friendly, not clinging onto his mind.

He easily shook off her charm and leaned his forearms on the bar rail. “What on earth would make you think that, Kinga?”

“That hickey on your neck, for starters,” she said, giggling. “I mean, the concealing's nice, but women already know that trick. Any others?”

“None of your business, if you want a decent tip.”

“Aurors.” She sighed. “No sense of humour. If you're looking for Auror Morgan, she's just having a word with the cook.”

“And if you serve me that again, I'll Transfigure you into a chicken and shove my boot that far up your ass, you'll be tasting scrambled eggs for six weeks!”

“She'll be right out,” Kinga assured him.

True enough, his partner blew out the kitchen door, daring anyone to look her way. “I thought we'd gotten to everyone who insisted on wretched cooking!' she exclaimed. “Ah, Harry!” He was briefly crushed in a hug and given skin-burning pecks on each cheek. Before he was let go, however, she whispered to him, “We've got a gig.” Aloud, she returned to her 'irritated' voice. “That toad in the hole tasted more like a frog in a funnel cake!”

With a wink at Kinga, a quickly-mouthed apology, and a surreptitious exchange of Galleons obviously meant to placate the kitchen staff, Rebekka linked arms with him and steered him to a table in the back of the Cauldron.

“What now?” Harry grinned and felt for his wand. The only time his partner got like this was when she was putting on an act. Rebekka had the most uncanny luck when it came to fighting the Dark Arts, once uncovering a suspect from the Italian Ministry's Most-Wanted List while entering a Scandinavian swimsuit contest. She wasn't even wearing Auror robes this morning, instead rocking those leather trousers as only a Veela could, along with a hot pink hooded sweatshirt over a white T-shirt with ' _Hardcore Manticore_ ' in sparkling script.

“You appear to be in a disgustingly good mood,” she told him, looking completely cheerful herself. “Did you three have fun? All those mental shields put back in place for the week? Got my Christmas gift, since I obviously won the bet?”

“Yes, yep, and of course, with some conditions.”

“Good. This isn't complicated, but I happened to spot one of the followers of the old Norwegian Dark Lord Hakaansson. He's staying here and doing business down in Knockturn Alley. I've got Floo Operations monitoring all the fireplaces upstairs in case he leaves that way. If he does come back out here, I want a word with him.” Leaning back in her chair so she was in a bit of shadow, she propped up a menu and flipped through it. “That's why I was in the kitchen, yelling at a wall while the staff all killed themselves laughing. Had to make a call in the woodstove fire. Lavisser, he's the target, isn't wanted for anything in Britain. But there are a few people back in the Baltics who would like to see him again.” She peeked aside at him and eyed his wrists. “So, what did your Ladies come up with?”

Harry pulled her gift out of a pocket. “Since the Noble and Most Recent House of Patil is currently the only House with an active bond, we can't let your bands be mistaken for ours. Hence, there's no crest on these. And since my bond doesn't interfere with my duties as an Auror, we just ask that you show the House proper respect and not wear them while working. They're for fun and accessorizing only.” He pushed the package over to her, followed by the sugar dispenser. “Of course, the twins would like me to point out we could use a person with your sort of international contacts. If you ever felt like joining the House, they'd offer a very favourable bond.”

“And what would the Ministry say with one House pretty much owning two Aurors?” Rebekka rested her hand on the back of his. “Thanks, partner. But a Veela can't become a slave again. As fun as it seems to be for you.”

“I understand,” he told her. “So just pretending to be a slave so you can score cheap sex is okay?”

“Keeps guys from getting clingy afterwards,” she said, putting the sugar in her tea and plucking at the bow on her gift. Unwrapping it and picking apart the frilly tissue paper inside, she oohed softly. “Lovely.” She picked one up and handed it to him, holding out her slender wrist as she pushed a pink sleeve up. “Show me, please?”

He took it from her and opened it a bit wider with his thumbs so it could fit over her hand. A soft tug on the strap and a flick of the buckle later, her wrist was wrapped in velvet and leather, matching her pants and looking oddly Gothic next to her pink hoodie.

Rebekka flexed her wrist once or twice. “Light,” she commented. “I've worn gloves heavier than this.”

“Come over for dinner one night,” Harry said, “And I'll teach you how to keep them in perfect condition.”

She smiled and undid the band so she could fondle the velvet interior. “Anti-Perspiration Charms?” she asked.

“Natch,” he agreed. Then he saw an older wizard in stylishly-cut robes and sporting a pair of eyebrows that made him look as if he could be a horned owl Animagus. “That your guy?”

“Yeah,” she breathed, dropping her present back into its box and stuffing it into her cloak. “That's Lavisser. Can't use a Tracking Charm on him, because he knows what they feel like when they hit. But I know a little spell.” She shoved Harry's knee over a little as she pointed her wand beneath the table and cast something. “There. His footprints will glow to us so we can follow him through Diagon Alley.”

They watched as their target strode across the Cauldron towards the Alley entrance. Just as he reached the doorway to the courtyard, a loud crescendo made everyone in the pub jump and a full brass band marched in from the street. They briskly stepped across the room, eight abreast, snowflakes drifting off the flat tops of their hats, and swept Lavisser up in the midst of the trombone section, carting him out the back door.

“Damn,” Rebekka bitched over the rattle of the snares. “I pronounced that wrong _again_!”

Harry stared as the drum corps piled through the back entrance with no hitch in their step, the strains of “Louie, Louie” fading as the band entered Diagon Alley. “No kidding. I remember last time we had to stun the whole flute section.”

She shrugged and got to her feet. “Well, at least we won't have any problems following him. Just hope that spell wears off before we get him into the interrogation room. The Department Head was deaf for two days afterwards. Come on. God help us if he goes into Gringotts.”

Shaking his head, Harry followed her past the bar. Chasing a marching band around Diagon Alley on his day off was going to be thirsty work. If they got through with Lavisser before closing time, he was making his partner buy the drinks. Then he'd do his best to convince her to let Padma or Hermione teach her how to execute that spell properly the next time.

**Author's Note:**

> Please review [here](http://community.livejournal.com/smutty_claus/156557.html).


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